Fruitas posts turnaround in first quarter of 2022

Food kiosk king Lester Yu’s Fruitas Holdings Inc. saw a turnaround in the first quarter of the year as sales and margins grew amid easing pandemic restrictions.

In a statement, Fruitas said it recorded a P6-million profit in the January to March period, reversing losses of P16 million last year.

Revenues also rose 26 percent to P330.5 million while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached P53 million. Fruitas said profit margins thus improved to 62.2 percent from 61.9 percent last year.

Fruitas, whose group of food kiosks includes Sabroso Lechon, De Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar, ended the first quarter with 700 stores. It opened another 10 stores as of May this year.

Meanwhile, Yu said they still planned to list Fruitas affiliate, Balai Ni Fruitas, within the “first half of 2022.”“We are fully committed to deliver value to our shareholders by improving operations and profitability,” said Yu, who is the president and CEO of Fruitas.

In the statement, the company said the initial public offering (IPO) of Balai required the final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Philippine Stock Exchange.

Balai filed its IPO papers with the SEC last February, revealing plans to raise P309 million to expand its store network and especially its bakery arm, Balai Pandesal.

Based on the IPO prospectus, Balai Ni Fruitas will sell 325 million primary common shares at an indicative price of up to P0.75 apiece to raise P243.75 million to finance its expansion plans.

Fruitas Holdings will sell another 50 million shares (P37.5 million) while an option to sell 37.5 million shares (P28.1 million) was provided.

First Metro Investment Corp. will act as sole underwriter, issue manager and bookrunner for the IPO.

Balai posted a net income of P2.28 million as of September 2021, reversing a P2.67-million loss the previous year. Revenues during the period rose 19.4 percent to P88.6 million.

—Miguel R. Camus INQ